The present invention relates to bathing units, and in particular, to an improved shower arrangement therefor.
A novel bathing apparatus for invalids and others with impaired ambulatory ability is disclosed in my above referenced co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 187,522, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,346,485. This bathing apparatus comprises a bathtub with upstanding walls that form a stall. The bathtub includes a seat having an anatomical contour, and a lateral opening adjacent the seat to permit invalid ingress and egress. A door with a generally wedge-shaped contour mates with and selectively closes the bathtub opening. A seal is compressed between the opening and the door to form a seal which is sufficiently watertight to permit immersal bathing of a seated invalid. The door is slidably mounted on a hingeless track assembly, which permits vertical translation of the door into a closed position, and pivots the door as it is raised into a horizontal, overhead storage position. The bathtub seat and opening are mutually oriented so as to permit an attendant to laterally move the invalid from a wheelchair directly onto the bathtub seat with minimum strain and hazzard.
The above-described bathing unit has two shower heads located at the opposite ends of the bathtub. One shower head is mounted centrally in the forward wall of the bathtub, at a location directly below the spigot and overflow drain valve. This shower head is aimed toward the rear of the bathtub, and discharges a scattered jet or stream of water directly at the forward side of the bather. Since the spray is emitted from the forward wall of the bathtub, at an elevation slightly above the waist of the bather, it has a relatively flat trajectory, so that it will cover the chest of the bather, as well as his mid-seciton and legs.
The second shower head in the above-described bathing apparatus is positioned centrally in the rear enclosure wall, at a location slightly above the rear rim of the bathtub. This shower head is aimed toward the front of the bathtub, and discharges a scattered stream of water onto the shoulders and back of the bather.
Both the forward and rearward shower heads described above have a relatively high flow rate, so that they will achieve complete coverage over the seated bather. However, it has been determined that this type of shower spray pattern is sometimes considered somewhat uncomfortable or intimidating to the bather, particularly with resepct to those bathers who are quite infirm or unsteady. Also, the flat trajectory of these spray patterns creates a shower spray which is not very gentle or soft.